(Bank of Russia) The Russian central bank says it has launched an official digital ruble trial, with successful transfers among citizens.
The central bank says three banks from 12 financial institutions in the pilot group have already integrated the digital ruble platform. Two have completed a “full cycle of digital ruble transfers.”
The Russian top bank guides that in the first stage, users will open wallets on the central bank digital currency on a mobile platform. They will also convert non-cash fiat into a digital currency and transact using the tokens.
During the second stage, the Russian central bank will test the digital currency for payments and other potential applications in smart contracts and interactions with the National Treasury
The central bank says it will consider digital ruble payments in offline mode in the future and avail the opportunity to non-resident customers.
The Bank of Russia deputy governor Olga Skorobogatova says the digital ruble is an opportunity for businesses, the state, and citizens to conduct transactions for free in any part of the country.
The introduction of the digital ruble comes even as the central bank opposes the Finance Ministry’s proposed crypto-friendly regulations citing “significant risks” of digital assets to the economy.
USDRUB is currently down -1.05%.
